Let the Phillies Photos Begin

The season has begun and so has the tradition of sending our friends a self portrait of our festivities. We do this to our friends to make them jealous and spiteful. (And, in case you were wondering, yes, Jeff usually has a green tint to him.)

Then our friends send something back ...

Unfortunately, what I didn't get a photo of was the woman sitting in front of us who's long, curly and somewhat dandruff-sprinkled hair dangled dangerously over Jeff's beer cup sitting in its holder. It was gag-inducing.

There are more beggars on the street. I feel so bad walking by that I've started carrying quarters to give them. Yes, there are many that are insane, but not all.

The Princess Party Photos

I'm a little behind on my uploading, but I simply could not not share these photos.

The house was decorated for a princess. Well, probably more for me, but Kyra definitely appreciated it. Streamers hung from every corner and doorway... and pretty much anywhere I could reach.

Balloons covered the floor and the ceiling. 45 on the floor to be exact. Filled with Jeff's hot air. Then the princesses started to arrive. We crafted. We painted fingernails and toenails. All primped and ready to play...

... the Frog Prince game, which is essentially hot potato with a stuffed frog, after listening to the story.


Then, they got all sugared up on gum drops, cupcakes, cake pops, and cookies. No healthy snacks at the princess party.

The sugar fix burned off to Jump Around by House of Pain. Laurie Berkner was not in the house for this dance party.


And then they walked away with reusable gift bags containing minimal junk. One party down. One to go. To the Carnival!

Summer in April

It has been a long, cold, wet winter and spring. In fact, the only evidence of spring has been the sneaky appearance of buds and leaves and green grass. But this weekend, popcicles were necessary thanks to the 90 degree temps.

A summer-like day is not complete without bubbles.

I've been found out!

Hi Bridget and Husband who reads my blog!!

I originally started this blog as a kind of therapy. I always kept journals as a kid and into my twenties when I lived in Paris. It seemed a natural transition to have a blog, although I was a little nervous about strangers reading it. My first post was actually a bitching session with the Blog about he/she who will remain unnamed. But then this address got out and I had to CENSOR myself, including deleting a well-crafted and entertaining post about he/she who will remain unnamed. Which sucked!

Anyway, I have been largely aware of the small world we live in and thus have continued to censor myself (a little). I don't want to offend anyone too much, or give names away. And this morning, when Bridget (Hi!) asked me about this site, I was thoroughly relieved of my decision. And then, a little freaked out - they recognized my girls from the pictures, and, I suppose, the one of me with a big fat glass of Chimay in my face. SHIT!

My father-in-law (Hey there!) is also a reader and asked my husband if I was concerned about people from work reading it. Because of course, I've bitched about some anonymous co-workers. Not really, I said. I haven't told anyone about it. Then, I thought about the people who do searches and end up here. Like for The Mud Room. These people must live nearby. There's a slim chance they may know me or my girls, but that's still a chance.

Well, I'm not going to change anything. What's the harm in bitching about people if I don't use their names? Now, if only you could find my secret blog....

Social Networks

As you may have noticed there are a bazillion social networks. I think I belong to only eight and I still don't have time to check them all out very often! But, did you know anyone can start a network? Check out Ning. There are public and private networks, including: Twittermoms, Posh Mama, and Thirty-Something Bloggers. I thought about starting a network, and I did. But then I quickly pulled it offline and figured I better build it up first before launching it. Then I thought, if I was going to start a network I want to put a little more thought into it. Make it something with a ton of potential. You know, this could be my million dollar business idea. Then, I started looking at Twitter Moms. She has a over 15,000 people following her on Twitter alone. I don't have time to put work into something like that. I have a full time job. I have two kids. I have errands and birthday parties to attend to. I have house projects. I have wine to drink and relaxing to do. I have to wait until the right idea hits then I can start my network. Hmmmm. The wheels are turning. What kind of network would you want to join?

Is there no privacy?

I'm open to understanding why spouses share an email address? My friend called it the "home email"; but it's the only email I have for her and it has her name in the address, not the family name. Why not just have your own email address and your spouse have his own? Why is it necessary to share an email? My husband and I do not, nor ever will, share an email address. It's not that I'm sending secret messages to my secret lover (we sneak late night phone calls instead) and don't want my husband to find out, I just want some things to be my own. Is it because you don't check email that often and people are scheduling playdates via email? Okay, I get that. Then, why not still have your own private email? Is it too much to check? I just don't get it.

Something bright on a rainy day

Where the hell is Matt?

The party

Kyra's Princess Birthday Party has come and gone with one lesson learned. It wasn't to "never have 10 five-year-olds in my house at one time" and it wasn't "never tell the parents they can drop their kids off and make a run for it." Nope. It was, in fact, never to play Simon Sez with a bunch of pre-schoolers. They just don't get it. Luckily I picked up on it quick and immediately named a winner so we could move on to the sugar portion of the festivities.

I'll upload pictures later, but the best will, by far, be the video of all of the Freeze Dance game to the Jump Around song jumping around in their princess gowns. I'm sure there's something wrong with that. And definitely, not so sure the parents would have loved my song choice, but oh well, they ran for for it.

Goody Bags

I hate goody bags. Actually, that's not true. I hate the crap that goes into goody bags. Erasers, pencils, bubbles, candy, tattoos. Yes, I know the kids love it, but it's JUNK! When it shows up in my house after a birthday party, it inevitably ends up scattered everywhere, under my feet, and then forgotten. I am just as guilty as the next person, though. I've bought said junk. It's requires no thought. No real preparation. It's easy.

But for this year's birthday parties I've decided to forego the "pre-made" birthday party. You know, screw easy. I want to consume all remaining free time I have with party prep work (see invitations and special dessert). Because, like most working moms, I have nothing BUT time on my hands. (For those of you who don't know me, that was sarcasm. I'm chiding myself. It's okay.) So, in the spirit of making everything by hand, I am also making each child a personalized fabric goody bag that can be re-used and kept out of the trash. (It's all about the greater good.) I'm actually stealing the idea from another blog, and if I can remember which one, I'll post the link because this mom also handmade a doodle book and included some cool oil pastels. If you're wondering what will go in my goody bags, I have no idea. And I'm running out of time fast. Got any suggestions?

For Mother's Day

Yes, it's coming up fast! And I just came across this Mom-a-thon, Million Card Giveaway with Kodak. Free! Check it out.

So small

I've mentioned here before what a small world it is. It has never been more evident then since I've been working at my current agency. I mean, someone I went to high school with worked here! I wasn't friends with him (at least I don't think I was) but I recognized him after 20 years (holy shit am I old!). It's a constant reminder to...well, you know the cliches...never burn bridges, be careful what you say in public, and always wear clean underwear. Oh wait, isn't that if you're in a car accident?

Anyway, this morning on the train, the woman behind me mentioned the name of one of our brands. My ears perked up and I spent the rest of the train ride eavesdropping. She and the person she was sitting with both work at my agency. Philadelphia IS a large city, the agency I work for is HUGE, and the train has three other cars, so what are the odds of someone I work with sitting directly behind me? As I listened to the conversation (I really couldn't help it. She was, after all, talking to the back of my head!), I realized I knew who she was talking about. And she wasn't saying nice things. Fortunately, for her, I'm not into gossiping, but, like I said, it's just another reminder...you never know who's in earshot.

In my seat

The staycation continues (while I work and Kyra is at school)...Ella is at the Phillies game with her dad, in near winter-like temperatures.

Ella, who is somehow mature beyond her years, pointed out to me this morning that it wasn't fair that Kyra doesn't get to go to the game. And she even managed to NOT tease or rub it in. She's good like that. If she slips and talks about it tonight in front of Kyra, she'll quickly catch herself and look at me with wide open eyes. Kyra, on the other hand, is completely oblivious to anyone else's feelings. I hope that's just an age thing.

I try as hard as possible to be fair and equal and give them both the same things. I think it's a horrible feeling to be left out. Not only do kids notice it, they remember. And then you hear about it 10 years later. Just beware. That's all I'm sayin'.

The Crayola Factory

The Crayola Factory in Easton, PA ... three letters to sum it up: OMG! Masses and hoardes and crowds of parents and grandparents and children and strollers. My nightmare in real life. Who'da thunk on a random Tuesday this place would be so crowded - a word to the wise, do not, I repeat, DO NOT go on a weekend. It could only be worse.

Okay, now that that's out of the way. It was a craft heaven for the kids. Free crayons, free markers, free modeling clay and projects out the wazoo. Playing with melted wax, clay, paint, coloring, glueing, cutting, chalking it up, writing on walls. They've got it covered. This place is a marketing goldmine, a hands-on demo of crayola products. However, one of the flaws in the layout is that you aren't forced to walk through the Crayola store. Yay!

Once you mentally adjust to the overwhelming chaos, you can focus on this ...

Cupcake Pops

I saw these adorable "cupcake pops" on Bakerella and knew they'd be perfect for Kyra's Princess Birthday party. Of course, these things always look easier then they really are so I did a practice run for an early Easter Egg Hunt at a friend's house yesterday.


Aren't they so cute? Essentially, you bake a cake then combine it in a bowl with icing (I made vanilla cake and cream cheese icing), roll it into balls, then melt chocolate wafers to dip into. Let them dry, then dip the "tops" in a different color. Easy, and they went over really well. But, beware, they are so sweet your teeth will ache.

A staycation of sorts

Ella is on spring break and I regret not taking off the entire week. So two days will have to do. The rain kept us away from the Philadelphia Zoo, so instead we started our day by painting creatures at a local paint-your-own-ceramics place.

Then, we braved the masses and went to see Monsters vs. Aliens in 3D. It was good, but not a winner like Finding Nemo or Madagascar. After that, we did what any girl should do after a busy day of fun. We got our nails done.

If there's anything to regret, it will probably be introducing them to pampering at such a young age. Oh well. They loved it. That's all that matters, right?

Tomorrow it's the Crayola Factory!

The Egg Hunt

Do you remember Easter Egg Hunts? I went on a few. They stressed me out so much I had a hard time seeing the obviously placed eggs. I'm slightly competitive and was anxious to find my fair share. In fact, I don't really have fond memories of any Egg Hunt. Mostly because I wanted to find the most eggs and I hated it, really hated it, if someone beat me to an egg. So, in honor of that (insert colorful adjective here) tradition, we've introduced our kids to the Egg Hunt. Friends of ours host it, but really it's an excuse to drink frou frou drinks before lunch while the kids entertain each other. Here's a little slide show of the "Line Up".